


I guess I don't mind loving you still

by saigne



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Manipulation, Jealousy, M/M, Slow Burn, Trans Male Character, Violence, i guess, minor characters - Freeform, tw for kray being himself
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:40:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23942473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saigne/pseuds/saigne
Summary: Galo happens to see Kray out to eat with someone and mistakes them for dating, forcing Galo to reevaluate how he feels about him.--Canon divergent au starting about 3 years before the start of the movie, focusing on Galo mismanaging his jealousy and how it snowballs from there. Relevant warnings will be at the start of chapters.
Relationships: Kray Foresight/Galo Thymos
Comments: 11
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The timeline is shifted so just like, take Burning Rescue as it is, and move them two years earlier so at the start of the movie they're all two years older basically. I needed time before it all goes to hell.

It’s not like Galo makes a habit of stalking the governor. Really, most of the time he’s living his own life, training to be a better firefighter, striving to be something more. In reality, he hardly ever runs into him anymore outside of the occasional visit. So it’s not on purpose when Galo sees him across the street, walking into the doors of a restaurant that looks far too fancy for someone like Galo to afford on his salary, even with the hazard pay.

Galo stops in his tracks, someone bumping into him from behind and almost making him drop the paper bag full of pastries in his arms. Lucia would have killed him.

“Sorry, sorry. “ He says it absentmindedly, eyes glued on the governor, on Kray, as he greets a woman who was in the waiting area. She’s pretty, tall, and thin. He can’t see that much from across the street, just enough to know that she’s attractive, and together they make a great pair. He has to wonder if it’s a date. There’s nothing wrong with it, of course. It even makes sense, Kray is a handsome and amazing guy, so why _wouldn’t_ he go on a date? Galo’s chest feels oddly tight.

He loiters for a few more seconds before his phone vibrates in his pocket and shakes him out of his thoughts. He grabs it, seeing that he has a text as he slowly starts to walk towards the station again.

_Come on dude, im gonna be a grandma before u get back_

Galo snorts, smiling at his phone at the text from Lucia. He doesn’t bother to reply and instead begins sprinting, weaving between the people on the streets like they’re his own personal obstacle course. He doesn’t wanna keep her waiting.

When Galo gets back Lucia doesn’t even look up from her screen, instead sticking one hand out, palm up. He makes his way over, panting a little as he drops the bag in her waiting hand. 

“Took ya long enough,” she says, pulling her arm in and depositing the bag on her desk.

“You never told me it was so far!” Galo waves his arms, groaning as he flops on the couch nearby. He can probably skip his cardio tomorrow morning.

“And it's your fault for not looking it up.” Lucia sounds smug. The sound of typing stops and he can hear the sound of her joints popping as she stretches. “Besides, this is your idea, so you have to feed me while I work on it.”

Galo sits up, turning to watch as she rummages through the bag with a wide grin. “Ooooooh, so you’re like my pet.”

Lucia doesn’t miss a beat as she reaches for the nearest object on her desk, which happens to be Vinny, chucking the rat at his head with deadly precision. It results in Galo falling back as he’s hit in the face with the Burning Rescue mascot, who’s equally startled if the claws digging into Galo’s skin are anything to go by. He struggles to grab Vinny, who is doing his best to avoid Galo, as Lucia cackles. “Talk shit, get hit, Thymos.”

They all settle down when Remi walks in, Vinny suddenly an angel and sitting on Galo’s shoulder like he wasn’t just yanking on his hair. Galo shoots the rat a glare and is met with a smile from the little… well, rat.

Remi spares the two of them a glance, more interested in the large brown bag on Lucia’s desk. “You went to 210? Isn’t the nearest one almost halfway across the city?”

Lucia grins, pulling out a milk bun and taking it out of the wrapper, grinning as she bites into it. “That it is, vice-captain. Can I interest you in some baked goods?”

Galo makes a noise of protest as Remi begins looking through the bag. “Hey!”

Lucia turns to him, grinning wider. “What? I never said you couldn’t eat any. Just that you had to bring some back.”

Remi looks up, eyebrow quirked up. “I’m guessing this is a payment for…?”

He trails off, looking at Galo expectantly.

Galo puffs out his chest, crossing his arms with a grin. “You’ll see! She’s helping me with a project and it’s gonna be awesome!”

Remi’s eyes glaze over as Galo launches into the benefits of having a matoi made with modern gear, Lucia adding her own input here and there. He stops them after about three minutes, throwing a hand up as he reaches into the bag with the other. He pulls out a pastry at random, taking a bite. “Forget I asked.”

Lucia and Galo watch as he makes his way off to his own area, Lucia snickering. “So you practice saying all that to get people to leave, or are you just waiting for them to ask so you can word vomit on them?”

Galo laughs, pushing himself up off the couch and reaching into the back to pull out a taro bun and handing a small piece to Vinny. “A little bit of both. I just really love matoi and the whole idea of firefighters in ancient Japan, y’know? You have these people that put their lives on the line to save as many others as possible. Especially back then, there wasn’t the kind of gear we have now.”

Lucia leans over the back of her chair, sticking a hand out for Vinny to jump off Galo’s shoulder. “You really love that stuff, huh?”

Galo turns red, rubbing the back of his neck as he takes a bite of the bread. “It’s cool.”

He sits back down, throwing his feet up onto the couch since Aina isn’t here to yell at him. It’s odd, but nice, having someone to listen to him talk and not immediately dismiss him. He’s not used to having someone listen, and it’s enough to throw him off.

Lucia keeps working as Galo recovers from having run literal miles, eventually dozing off on the couch.

“Oh shit.” It’s said with enough force to wake Galo up from his nap, something falling off his chest as he sits up. He looks down, seeing someone put their jacket on him as he slept.

“What?” He looks over to Lucia who moves away from the desk so he can see the screen.

It looks like an article to some online tabloid. Galo rubs the sleep from his eyes as he makes his way over to the monitor, squinting to focus his eyes.

It’s a picture of Kray and a woman, and it takes Galo a moment to process what he’s seeing.

“Oh wow, that was fast.” It feels like there’s sand in his throat as he speaks, eyes reading the headline over and over. **Could the Governor Be Looking for a Governess?**

As headlines go, it’s pretty bad.

Lucia looks up at him curiously. “Fast? Did you see him?”

“On my way back, actually. He was at some restaurant.” Galo’s voice is too loud if the way Lucia winces is any indication. He continues, forcing himself to tone it down. “I didn’t wanna bug him so I just kept going.”

“Really? I guess bloggers never rest, that was only like six hours ago.” Lucia sounds bored, turning back to the screen.

“Haha, yeah.” Galo pulls out his phone, looking up the headline and reading the article again. He can’t figure out what’s wrong with him that seeing it makes him so… angry? That doesn’t feel right. Galo stares at the picture of Kray with the woman, frowning at his phone. It bothers him, reading about the possibility of this woman being his partner.

It’s not like he has any say in what the governor does in his free time. Hell, he hasn’t even seen Kray in at least three weeks. That doesn’t make the tightness in his chest go away, though. Instead, it just makes him think of the fact Kray could be with someone and he wouldn’t even know it. Which is, like, totally fine. 

Another few minutes pass of him glaring at the photo.

“She doesn’t even look that good.”

“Huh?” Lucia turns around, confused.

“The woman he’s with. She’s not pretty enough for him. He could do better.” Galo says it without thinking, eventually looking up to see Lucia staring at him like he has two heads. “What?”

Her mouth opens and closes a few times, head tilting to the side. “Are you- are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay? I’m fine.” He punctuates the sentence with a grin, leaning back. “I just think she’s not that pretty. Which is totally normal.”

Lucia keeps giving him that look, and it’s enough to make him squirm. “Okay, yeah, for normal people. But I’ve known you for weeks now and you’ve never said anything mean about anyone. No, that’s an understatement. That guy at the taco stand spilled his beer on you last week and you apologized, and then you bought him a new one.”

“It’s not that big of a deal.” Galo crosses his arms, looking to the side.

Lucia watches him a bit longer, throwing her hands up in defeat as she turns back around. “Sure sure, if you say so. But you totally sound like a jealous ex, just so you know.”

Galo snaps his head to look at her, eyes wide. “No I don’t,” he says, frowning.

Lucia hums, waving a hand dismissively. “Hey man, I just call ‘em like I see ‘em.”

Galo opens his mouth to argue, stopping himself when he realizes it won’t do him any favors. Arguing they’re not jealous is exactly what a jealous person would do. Fuck.

“Besides, she totally looks like you.” Lucia says it offhandedly, not even looking up from her work. “So you just dissed yourself.”

The comment gets under his skin and he pulls up the photo again. Fuck. She kind of does.

He stares at the woman’s purple hair, hand coming up to touch his own. He really doesn’t want to think about what this says about Kray’s taste. He’s thinking about it.

Does that mean Kray would date him if he was a woman?

Galo shakes his head, shutting down that line of thinking in its tracks. He is not opening that can of worms right now.

It’s not like he wants to date Kray, either. Kray’s a hero, not the type of person that someone could just date. And the man spends so much time running the city he barely has time to visit Galo, so it’s not like he has time to _date_ anyone. Except he’s on a date, so that means he does have time.

Galo presses the palm of his hand to his forehead, closing his eyes and wrinkling his nose. 

He’s just bothered because he misses Kray, which is a totally normal emotion to feel when you see someone you care about spending time with someone else. He’s not jealous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: it'll be easy to make an rp into a fic!  
> Me: writes the 1st chapter where 90% of it wasn't actually in the rp  
> Me:  
> Me: fuck
> 
> Anyways it's almost midnight, I'm gonna go eat diner. Rip Galo I'll pray for you my dude.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, at 11 in the morning: this will be fun!
> 
> Me, almost 13 hours later, about to cry: I'm so tired
> 
> I promise Kray will actually show his horrible, handsome lizard face in the next chapter.

He’s so fucking jealous.

It’s only been four days since Galo saw Kray with that woman, and it’s eating him alive. He saved the photo for some reason he doesn’t understand, bringing the picture up at random intervals to glare at it. He thinks he’s done a decent job at playing it off, but Lucia keeps giving him conspiratory glances and it’s setting him on edge.

Worse, he feels so mean, going back and forth between tearing the woman apart in his head and reminding himself that she’s probably a lovely lady and he’s just being… petty.

He groans into the pillow as his alarm goes off for a second time, lifting his head to grab his phone and check the time. It’s only the promise of Varys making lunch later that motivates him to move today.

He gets ready quickly, turning on the news as he makes himself a bowl of cereal. There’s nothing new happening thankfully, Galo spacing out until he sees an announcement featuring a new science program at the university near the center of the city.

Kray is speaking at the dedication, talking about the hope and future of mankind, but Galo is too focused on the person standing off to the side to listen. It's the mystery woman, facing the crowd impassively as Kray speaks.

Galo blinks, watching as the ceremony continues and the woman follows Kray around at a respectable distance. It hits him that she must be his secretary, and it takes another three seconds for him to come to the conclusion that Kray hired his partner so they could be together.

He turns off the T.V. and dumps the rest of his cereal down the sink, appetite gone suddenly, before heading out the door.

Luckily, there aren’t any emergencies that day, and instead the team gets to enjoy Varys’ barbeque in between performing maintenance on their gear and trying to figure out who gets to speak about fire safety at the schools in the city. It’s not enough to pull Galo out of his bad mood, but it’s enough that the smile he’s plastered to his face comes easily.

It’s really easy to pretend like he's fine as long as he doesn’t think about Kray, hear Kray’s name, or see Kray in the news when he watches it in the morning. So it’s actually really fucking hard.

He’s sitting on the couch again while Aina ices his shoulder. It was pulled earlier while they were training, Galo throwing himself even more enthusiastically than usual into the exercises and suffering as a result.

They end up sitting there for a while, slowly shifting so Galo is able to keep the half-melted ice pack on his shoulder without support. Aina is leaning on him, looking at talking points for the fire safety presentations that she and Galo graciously volunteered for.

He’s scrolling on his phone, reading the caption on a photo not thinking as he retweets it. “I believe in het oppression.”

Galo looks up after a moment, the station suddenly silent as everyone stares at him. Even Ignis. He never realized how much background noise five other people can make until it suddenly all stops. 

Lucia cackles after another moment, raising the ICOP cup she stole from Remy earlier. “Hell yeah, me too!”

“Don’t encourage him!” Aina points at Lucia, who is taking a drink from the cup now, still grinning.

“Oh come on, you act like you’ve never used the internet,” Lucia says, shrugging. “It’s a meme.”

“No, Lucia, she’s right.” Ignis stands, walking over to them. “When I was young, it was actually a big problem. There was even a bus full of people wearing shirts that said ‘down with cis’ that would go around assaulting strangers.”

There are twin looks of horror coming from Aina and Galo before they’re replaced by confusion as Lucia laughs so hard she almost falls from her chair. “That’s not funny Lucia!”

It only makes Lucia laugh harder and it slowly sinks in for the two that, oh, Ignis was joking.

Aina pouts, taking one of the beers Ignis offers them as Galo takes the other, the ice pack falling off his shoulder as he sits up. Galo places the top against the edge of the table, hitting it with his other hand and popping the cap off. He downs half of the bottle in one go, Ignis raising an eyebrow.

“Thanks,” Galo says, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before setting the beer on the table. He takes the bottle Aina is holding, positioning the top at the edge of the table before hitting the top of it and knocking the cap off.

He hands it to Aina, leaning back as he grabs his own beer again.

She eyes him as she drinks her beer. “Okay, but seriously, what’s up with you today?”

Galo blinks, looking at her for a moment before smiling. “Whaddya mean?”

Aina stares at him for a moment before she sighs, taking a long drink of beer. “I don’t know, you’ve just been weird this week. First forgetting stuff, now messing up your arm, and… you can talk to me if something is bothering you, you know that right?”

Hearing this comes as a surprise to Galo. He thought he was doing a good job keeping it all under wraps. “Awww, Aina, you’re worried about me.”

He laughs, patting her back a few times. “I pushed myself a little too hard today, but I’m fine.” His smile grows wider when she looks unconvinced. “Really.”

The subject is dropped when Galo promises to be careful, Lucia interrupting to show them a screenshot explaining what Ignis was talking about that she found on an archival website. 

They keep talking, Galo pointedly ignoring the looks he can see Aina giving him from the corner of his eye. He’s fine, really. As long as he can keep working he’s fine.

\----

The next week and a half is quiet, the only fires too big to be handled by the automated systems being minor enough that other stations are able to handle it. It’s driving Galo insane.

He doesn’t want people to be in danger, not at all. It’s the last thing he wants. But- _but_ \- there’s a tiny voice nagging in the back of his mind that he needs a chance to prove himself, that if he can just get the right person’s attention the ache in his chest will go away. 

Galo feels disgusted with himself when he thinks that, but it doesn’t stop his feet from moving even faster than usual when the alarm finally goes off at the station.

They’re all sprinting to the garage, gear coming on as they drop what they’re doing and move out. Galo feels his gut turning over itself, anxiety and adrenaline mixing with something else he doesn’t have the time to identify.

For all his posturing, running into a burning building isn’t fun. Even with all the gear, the heated air filling his lung makes Galo remember his first blaze, and he grins through the bolt of terror that shoots down his spine. It’s a reminder as to why, and the closer they get to the fire the more Galo is able to push down all extraneous thoughts until he's only focused on the rescue. On being a hero. He doesn’t want anyone else to experience that fear, or the loss that followed.

The truck screeches to a halt in front of what Galo can only assume is a business building, the sudden stop throwing everyone off balance. Varys and Remi deploy before the truck has even stopped moving.

Galo watches as they go in over Lucia’s shoulder, biting his lip and waiting for Ignis to give the order. It’s odd, the fire is clearly a Burnish flame, but even after everyone in the building is accounted for, they can’t find the start of it.

It’s not until Remi and Varys are leaving the building with what they thought was all the civilians that Aina’s sensors pick up three more people on a higher floor.

“Aina-” Ignis barely has her name out before Galo is moving, hitting the launch button on his own gear over Lucia’s shoulder and throwing himself into his seat just as it fires.

“Galo what the hell?” He can hear Ignis yell over the coms, gritting his teeth as he’s thrown into the side of the building.

“There’s no time. Varys and Remi won’t make it!” He yelps as the pod lands, picking himself up and using his gun to freeze the worst of the flames. This is incredibly stupid, but Galo rather do this than just sit and _watch_ as people die.

He finds them quickly enough, huddled together in what looks like a snack room. Two kids and an adult woman.

“Whoa, bad day to take your kids to work!” Galo looks up when he hears the ceiling creak, brows furrowing. That’s not good. “But don’t worry, Galo Thymos is on the job!”

Ignis is yelling at Varys to hurry up and get in there, voice sounding like static because of all the interference. 

There’s a loud crack right above Galo’s head and he barely managed to avoid a metal beam hitting him. “Alright, let’s get out of here.”

The woman only has time to nod once before Galo is picking her and the kids up, using the arm of the mech to clutch them against himself. It’s harder to move now, Galo careful not to shake the civilians too much as he makes his way out.

It’s too slow, and he can see the floor cracking under him, even as he’s twenty feet away from the hole he made in the building.

“Galo!” He hears Aina’s voice at the same time her ship comes into view, the evacuation pod open and facing him.

He takes a step forward, rushing now, and cursing when the mechanical foot cracks the floor beneath him. Galo freezes, eyes wide.

He looks at the people he’s holding, making eye contact with the mom. “Hey, I need you to do me a favor and get on that ship. Don’t worry about the fire, okay?” He smiles. “I got your back.”

There’s the briefest flash of hesitation as he lowers his arm before the woman is coughing, taking off towards Aina.

“Galo, come on, the building is collapsing!” That’s Aina again, voice cutting over whatever Ignis is saying to Varys - something about structural integrity?

He moves again, trying to step on the floor with the other foot and free himself, except that crumbles too. There’s another loud noise and suddenly smoke is filling Galo’s lungs, everything going black and Aina’s scream echoing in his head as he falls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Galo is hard wtf
> 
> Also, I decided earlier that Ignis is 55, and backtracking the timeline to now (2020) it means he's my age, and I really wasn't ready to handle this knowledge. 
> 
> Ignis: alright no one talk to me I found my old Nintendo Switch while cleaning this weekend, and I have about 20 years worth of weeds to pull


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would die for Lucia and Galo's friendship.

“Honestly, the smoke inhalation almost did more damage than the actual fall. He’s lucky, but even so he’s going to need to be off duty for about six weeks between that and the ribs.”

The voice sounds like it’s muffled by cloth, but even still it’s enough to send a sharp pain into Galo’s head as he hears it. He groans, feeling movement next to him that only causes more pain.

“Galo?”

“Galo isn’t here right now, please leave a message at th- after the beep.” Talking is incredibly hard, his jaw aching in that way that reminds him of getting in a fight when he was still a teen.

There’s more voices now, and he whines, head pounding. It takes him a few minutes to open his eyes, the light blinding, and he’s instantly shutting them again.

It takes a bit longer to actually keep his eyes open, slowly but surely able to make out the room he’s in, and everyone around him.

The rest of Burning Rescue is surrounding him, Lucia and Aina half on his bed, while the other three stand closeby. Galo smiles at them all, realizing that they must have pulled him from the wreckage of the building.

Ignis gives him a look that makes his smile falter, the man taking the doctor out of the room with him as the rest of them talk to him. 

“Are you insane? You know Remi and I are supposed to do that sort of stuff, right?” Varys is standing over him, eyebrows knit together. It’s true, too. They would have been able to brace the building, and they wouldn’t have had to carry out the civilians in their arms.

It makes Galo’s ears burn.

“I- I didn’t think things through.” It’s a weak defense, made worse by the fact that it’s true. He didn’t think, simply running headfirst into danger.

“Really now, we know you’re an idiot but this is particularly bad, even for you.” Remi says it with a sigh, arms crossed. “But, at least you’re okay.”

Galo laughs, cutting himself off with a wheeze as pain shoots through his chest. “Yup, I’m sorry I ran in like that!”

Lucia punches his shoulder, sniffing a little as she does so. “You can’t just do that, dummy! How are you gonna test your new gear now?”

It’s not a hard punch, but it’s enough to make his body shift in bed, the movement causing Galo to wince. Aina puts a hand on Lucia’s arm and Lucia moves back, giving him space. “I’m sorry guys… Are they at least okay?”

Aina rolls her eyes, smiling despite herself. “Of course you’re more worried about them than yourself. Yes, they’re all fine.”

It’s like an invisible weight was lifted off Galo’s chest, and he sighs, relaxing into the pillows. They spend the next twenty minutes just talking, only stopping when Ignis comes back into the room.

“Hey Captain, I-”

“Save it.” Ignis’ voice isn’t cold, not really, but the clipped tone shuts Galo up in a second. “I’m sorry to say this, but I’m going to have to suspend you for what you did.”

Galo’s jaw drops open, and he’s left unable to react while Lucia, Aina, and Varys protest. Remi doesn’t say anything, but he gives Galo a sympathetic look.

Ignis puts a hand up, shutting all of them up. “Not only did Galo run in without backup, but he ignored multiple orders to pull back, endangered the lives of civilians as well as his own, and to top it off he used gear without the proper authorization. Normally I’d let the last one go, but with the addition of the other two I have no choice but to suspend you.”

They sit there in shock, and as much as Galo wants to speak up, he can’t.

Ignis sighs, pushing his glasses up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “The doctor told me that it will take about six weeks for your ribs to heal properly. Following that, you’re going to be suspended for another three weeks without pay. Do you understand?”

Galo can’t do more than nod, mouth still open in shock. The last thing he expected was a suspension.

Lucia tries to say something, but is cut off again by Ignis. “We are a rescue team, and if we don’t function as a team, it’s going to end with one of us getting killed.”

Silence settles over all of them, no one willing to break it. “That said, you did a good job out there kid.”

Ignis doesn't smile, it’s more like his mustache twitches, but it’s enough to make Galo give a smile in return, albeit sheepishly.

They all slowly trickle out one by one after that, leaving him with well wishes and promises to keep his station clean. Lucia’s the last to leave, making sure everyone is out of earshot before speaking. “So, it’s not much, but I’ll have that new gear ready for you when you come back. I can update you on it while you’re away, too.”

“That… that would be really nice. Like super nice.” Galo slowly becomes more animated as he speaks. The declaration from Ignis took all the air from his chest, but this brings a little life back into him.

Lucia gives him a thumbs up, snickering before leaning in to hug him.

“I’m not, ah, interrupting anything am I?”

Lucia jumps back, her and Galo turning to face the source of the voice. Galo feels his stomach drop when he sees who’s in the doorway, butterflies filling his chest until he’s unable to breath.

“Governor, hi! We didn’t hear you come in.” Lucia’s voice sounds more formal than Galo has ever heard it. She steps away from the bed a little, facing Kray and giving Galo another thumbs up behind her back, where the governor can’t see it.

He beams as Kray walks into the room, raising a bandaged hand. “Hey, Gov’. I didn’t- I didn’t expect to see you here.”

The smile on his face falls when he sees the woman he now knows is Kray’s secretary follow behind him. It makes sense, she’s even carrying a bouquet of sunflowers, of course she’d help Kray out when doing his duties. Even so, Galo can’t stop himself from frowning when he sees her.

He’s not even looking at Kray at this point, instead glaring at the woman who seems almost startled.

It only lasts a second, and then Galo looks at Kray again with a smile, pointedly ignoring the woman behind him.

Kray is quiet for longer than Galo would have expected, eventually smiling a little wider than usual. “Well, I would be remiss to not visit you after such a heroic rescue.”

Galo’s chest feels warm under the praise, lips curving up into a more genuine smile. “I’m hono-”

Kray speaks over him. “However, I was talking with the Captain in the hall, and I’m disappointed in your conduct. You took an unnecessary risk and could have gotten yourself killed.”

That, more than Ignis reprimanding him earlier, makes him feel bad. Galo’s ears burn, and he stares at the covers of the bed, unable to meet Kray’s gaze.

Lucia shifts, making him jump. “Well, I’ll let you all talk.”

She gives Galo a sympathetic look before maneuvering around the other two in the room, giving him a quick wave as she all but runs out of the room. Not that he blames her for leaving in a hurry, he doesn’t want to be here to watch him get yelled at either.

The silence stretches on a bit longer before Galo finally says something. “I’m sorry, sir.”

There’s another long pause as no one speaks.

“I’m just worried, Galo. You can’t rescue people if you get yourself hurt in some stupid stunt.” 

Galo knows he should hang his head, apologize, but instead it’s all he can do to keep staring at the wall and not break down. White hot shame stabs into his chest, frustration at following in his hero’s footsteps, only to be called stupid for risking his life the same way Kray did. He feels like a child being scolded. 

“It won’t happen again.” Galo’s tone is clipped, the combination of his injuries, the suspension, and now Kray hitting him like a ton of bricks. This sucks. He just wants to close his eyes and sleep. “Sorry, I’m really tired. Is that it?”

He can’t believe the words, even as they come out of his own mouth. From the corner of his eye, Galo can see Kray open and close his fist, like he’s frustrated, except Kray doesn’t get frustrated.

“Yes, that’s it.” Kray’s voice is a little less warm than usual, and Galo is tempted to apologize. Actually, he _really_ wants to apologize, but stops himself when he remembers that Kray’s secretary is standing behind him. Instead, he holds it back.

“Well, thanks for coming, Governor Kray! You gotta be too busy to waste time on me, you should go deal with more important stuff.” He finally turns to look at Kray as he says it, a wide smile plastered on his face.

Kray doesn’t reply for a while, staring at Galo with that unmoving smile. “That’s a good idea. I don’t want to keep you from your rest, after all. Feel better, Galo.”

He turns, pausing halfway. “Biar, please put the flowers on the table for him, won’t you?”

And with that he’s gone, Galo’s grin vanishing the second Kray is out of the room. Biar smiles at him once, setting a few items down so she could untuck the flowers from under her arm. She sets them on the nightstand before giving Galo one final smile and following the governor out.

Galo stares at the sunflowers for a bit, jaw clenching. It hurts to move, but he does so anyways, twisting just enough to grab the flowers and throw them into the small wastebasket next to the bed. Fuck her.

He hears someone in the doorway, head snapping up to see Biar staring at him with wide eyes. Galo opens his mouth and closes it, looking for an excuse before deciding that, well, he doesn’t really care. “Why did you come back?”

Biar steps into the room, approaching Galo, and for a moment he thinks she’s going to slap him. She doesn’t, instead grabbing a small notebook she left on the nightstand. “I forgot this.”

“Oh, alright. Cool.” He watches as she leaves, a mix of guilt and satisfaction twisting in his gut.. “You don’t have to visit anymore.”

Biar pauses, blinking at him like she can’t believe what he just said before regaining her composure. “Of course. Goodbye.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Kray is so funny when it's from an outside POV honestly. 
> 
> Kray: Galo u could have gotten urself killed :((  
> Kray, internally: and somehow you fucked that up too


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise bitch, bet you thought you’d seen the last of me. 
> 
> Real talk tho I wrote the last three chapters, got carpal tunnel in both wrists for two months, and then forgot how to write for another ????? And now it’s October

It’s not like Galo expects daily visitors, but he still feels lonely in the long stretches of time between guests. Not that he minds too much, passing time sleeping through large portions of the day. Plus, outside of Burning Rescue and Kray, it’s not like he has anyone that would visit. Everyone on the team is busy with firefighting and Kray, well, Kray already visited him once.

He’s finishing the sad pudding cup that is his dessert when he hears someone walking towards his room. A nurse just checked on him, and so he expects the person to walk past.

The footsteps stop outside his door and he looks up, frozen in place. The plastic cup is pressed to his face as he tries to lick the last bit from the bottom, and when he puts it down the imprint on the cup is left on his face. There’s a light knock and Galo sits back, confused. There’s no one that would be visiting him. “Come in?”

Galo expected a doctor or nurse or something, so no one can blame him when his mouth opens to form a small “o” as Kray enters the room.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Kray’s voice is light as he closes the door behind him, and Galo is painfully aware of how bad he must look.. “I apologize for the short visit last week, I wish I had been able to stay a little longer.”

There’s a stretch of silence that goes on for longer than Galo intends. It’s not his fault, really, it’s just that Kray is wearing a button down shirt instead of his usual suit, and Galo is distracted by the button that looks like it’s about to pop off. “It’s hi- I mean fine! Hi! You’re not interrupting anything.”

Galo can’t remember the last time he’s had a moment alone with Kray, and here he is messing it up. Something in his chest burns as he wonders if this is what it takes to get Kray to make time for him. Not that Kray _should_ take time out of his day to worry, but still. He smiles wide, trying to cover this thought up with a grin. The smile wilts under the weight of Kray’s gaze.

The larger man pulls up a chair, sitting down and bringing his hands together in front of him. It’s only now that Galo notices the black frame Kray’s holding. Kray follows his gaze, offering it out to Galo after a moment. “I almost forgot. On behalf of the city council, I’d like to present you with this certificate to show our appreciation for your bravery.”

There's a moment where Galo doesn’t understand, eyes widening as it sinks in. “Bu I- I put myself in danger. And I-”

“Galo.” Kray’s voice is firm. Galo snaps his jaw shut, staring.

It’s not like he wants to argue, especially when Kray went out of his way to see him. And on one of Kray’s rare days off, if the clothes are any indication.

“I’m sorry, I was just surprised.” He reaches for the frame, his smile now more natural as he stares at it. It’s cheap, and the thin black plastic it’s made of feels flimsy, but Galo doesn’t care. It’s a gift from Kray, and he’s already imagining where to hang it up in his apartment once he’s discharged.

“How are you feeling, by the way?” Kray is sitting back now, legs crossed, one arm thrown over the back of the chair and it’s so damn _unfair_. Galo can’t stop staring, and there’s a small voice in the back of his mind wondering how the slacks Kray’s wearing haven’t ripped. Or how the buttons on his shirt hasn’t flown off.

“I’m as good as I can be, haha. I guess I’m just glad I’m not hurt worse.” He knows there are bags under his eyes,and he wishes the light in the room was less harsh so they wouldn’t be as visible. He looks like shit.

“That’s good to hear.” Kray uncrosses his legs, smile growing wider as he points at the certificate. “I’m sorry for only getting that to you now. I meant to bring it with me last week, but my secretary forgot to grab it.”

The smile drops from Galo’s face at the mention of Biar.It feels like he got splashed with cold water, the atmosphere they had a second ago gone. “Oh- um- it’s fine, really. I never expected an award or anything so...”

There’s another long pause, Galo playing with the edge of the frame. Thankfully, Kray breaks the silence.

“Do you have something you wish to tell me?" Kray’s voice is smooth, like he's doing Galo a favor. Galo looks confused before Kray continues. “About my secretary. She seemed shaken after leaving the room on my last visit.”

Galo presses his lips into a thin line, making a show of scratching the back of his head to try and play off the lack of response. He winces when it pulls at something, pain shooting up his side. “I’m- what?”

Kray keeps talking like Galo’s reaction was perfectly normal. “I normally wouldn’t ask, but usually you get along so well with people that I was worried.”

For a second, Galo feels happy that Kray noticed something about him, but then it sinks in that it’s based on what Biar told him. Of course Kray would ask about it. Galo lets his shoulders slump down, biting his lip as he tries to figure out an excuse.

He should have made sure they were gone.

“I’m sorry.”

“Pardon?”

“You’re asking because she told you about the flowers, right? I’m sorry.” Galo can’t bring himself to look at Kray, instead staring at the frame under his hands. Maybe he shouldn’t have thrown the flowers away, they were a gift. It’s just so _unfair_.

“Was there a reason you didn’t like the flowers? Or was it…” Kray lets the question trail off, leaving it open and Galo swears Kray is doing it just to watch him squirm. He can feel his face burning, only getting worse the longer they sit in silence. The blanket under his hands is suddenly so interesting, Galo messing it instead of replying.

“Galo.” Kray’s voice is lower now, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “I can’t help you if you don't tell me what’s wrong.”

“I don’t trust your secretary,” Galo eventually mumbles, feeling his throat burn as the words come out. Kray tilts his head slightly, brows furrowing.

“You don’t trust her?”

“I’m sorry, I know you two are _close_ but…” Galo trails off, biting his bottom lip again, this time hard enough that it hurts and he half expects to taste blood.

Kray doesn’t respond and Galo looks up finally, finding himself jumping a little when he meets Kray’s eyes. Kray’s gaze is heavy and it feels like he’s dissecting him, looking at Galo like a puzzle to be solved.

It’s stressful. Galo runs his hand through his hair again, looking back down at the blanket as the silence continues to drag.

“Sorry you felt obligated to visit me today.” He sounds like a pouting child, at this point actively looking away from Kray and out towards the window on the other side of the room. “I know you’re busy.”

Kray is still for a moment longer before he’s suddenly sitting up. “Galo, what exactly do you think the nature of my relationship is with Briar?”

He sounds like Lucia does when she thinks Galo doesn’t get a joke, and it sets Galo’s teeth on edge. He shrinks down, ignoring the aches as he tries to disappear into the bed. “I- I uh- I saw you two a while ago,” he starts, voice getting softer with each word. “And you were having a dinner date and so I just… Aren’t you two, like, together?”

He hates this. He hates how Kray is making him talk about things he’s trying so hard to ignore. Kray’s reactions are worse, staring at Galo like he’s a science project or something. His voice makes Galo feel like a small child being patronized. 

There’s another stretch of silence, broken suddenly by the sound of laughter and Galo looks over to realize Kray is _laughing_. It’s a full laugh, one of Kray’s hands falling across his stomach as he leans back in the chair. Galo is half tempted to call a nurse in using the call button just to end the whole thing. It’s humiliating. He’s being laughed at like a child.

“Don’t worry.” Galo jolts when Kray finally speaks, too caught up in his own thoughts that it surprises him. Kray’s voice sounds lighter than it did, taking on a tone Galo never hears. Kray is smiling, his words punctuated by soft laughter. “We’re not together. I would never date someone in my employ, but thank you for worrying about how it would reflect on me.”

The confusion at that is enough to dampen the shame, Galo’s brow furrowing. He never mentioned anything about how it would reflect on Kray. He doesn’t understand what it means, mouth opening and closing as he tries to think of a response.

“Really, thank you.” It hits him that Kray sees the question as genuine concern. It would look bad if he was dating a subordinate, so of course Galo was worried. He’s too much of a kid to ask for any other reason. Galo feels his shoulders fall as he smiles, not able to look up at Kray. “Yeah, of course, Gov’.”

He feels deflated, like a balloon that had lost all of its air. It’s not like Kray had any reason to suspect Galo was jealous but, well, it still feels like a rejection, and Galo never even got to confess.

Kray is saying something to Galo, and he finally looks at Kray, only now realizing he’s standing. “Huh?”

“You must be tired.” Kray’s voice is gentle, smile wider than Galo’s ever seen it. “I was saying that something came up, but I’ll see you in a few days.”

“Oh, right. Thanks for- thanks for visiting!” He tries to put heat in his words, but instead they fall flat. He blames the pain medicine in his IV. “I’ll see you in a few, I guess.”

“I look forward to it.” And just like that, Kray is gone and Galo is left alone in the room, eyes slowly falling to the award he got for his efforts. He wants to throw that in the trash too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am bad at pacing wow haha this is gonna move along soon


End file.
